Bubbling Landscapes in Rotorua

“Look after all who come, share the beauty and wonder of our home. There are no strangers in our land.” (Codex for the guides in the village)

Whakarewarewa – The Living Village in Rotrua

John, you made my day! I spent about 4 hour in Whakarewarewa – The Living Village (Rotorua) and the guided tour with John was the highlight of my great sunny day. His passion and spirit left a deep impression and I learned some important basics about Maori Culture. First of all he helped us to pronounce the name of the Village. Look at the never ending word in the picture and keep in mind, that this word is the second longest word in the native language of the Maori people. His grand-grand-grandmother already was a guide in the village and he is doing a wonderful job to keep that tradition running. There are 35 families living in the village permanently with the youngest being 6 month old and the oldest being 92 years old. Water and mud are bubbling under the thin and fragmented ground and find their way to show up on the surface once in a while. It was so hot that I thought my soles might melt a couple of times. The carvings of the assembly house represent the history of the tribes and the human body.

John (in red) and the Maori Mikrowave

John explained us for example, that the white carvings under the roof represent the ribs of a human and with the head in the middle you can understand the front of the roof as wide open arms to welcome the people. I am not sure if you can fallow me, but it all makes much more sense to me now and that’s great.

I also saw a culture performance in the village and talked for a bit with the guy who works in the tattoo studio there. The Maori tattoos are very special and pretty. He explained me that it is a privilege and a burden to get a face tattoo and that only elderly people wear it, because they are asked to represent the traditions of the tribe and be a leading example, which means that they should not smoke, nor drink or anything that is interpreted to be a addiction. Nowadays you don’t see a lot of people with face tattoos anymore. Besides all the cultural inputs Mother Nature, with all her beauty, the sounds and the special smell played the main role today.